Pattern chain for looms



April 3, 1934. E Rt HLMES 1,953,652

PATTERN CHAIN FOR LOOMS Filed May 24, 1953 0 ttonneqs Patented Apr. 3, 1934 PATTERN CHAIN FOR LOOMS Elbridge R. Holmes, Worcester, Mass., assigner to Crompton c Knowles Loom Works, Worcesteig Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 24, 1933, Serial No. 672,664

13 Claims.

This invention relates to pattern chains for looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide a chain with a removable part capable of maintaining an indicating lever in a constant position as the chain moves under it.

In certain automatic weft changing looms of the multi-color type it is necessary to keep the color control of the magazine coordinated with the active shuttle to prevent confusion of weft when the change is made. In a Knowles loom where the feeding motion of the pattern chain is continuous there is likelihood that the lever which is controlling certain parts of the automatic features will rise and fall slightly as one chain element, such as a ball, passes away from and another approaches the lever. When the control is electrical this vibration of the lever will cause an unsteady contact at the switch with resultant uncertainty in the operation of the electro-magnetic l parts of the apparatus.

The pattern chain must be flexible to pass around the sprockets and it is a further object of my invention to provide bridge plates or the like which are separate from the chain balls and movable with respect to them and also held in place for all turning positions of the chain.

Although the invention is set forth as being usable in automatic Knowles looms, yet I do not wish to be limited to such use, as the structure to be described can be put to other uses.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement or parts hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein a convenient embodiment of my invention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a detail vertical section taken transversely through a pattern chain mechanism having my invention applied thereto,

Figs. 2 and 3 are side and edge elevations, respectively, of the chain ball used in my invention,

Figs. 4 and 5 are side and edge views, respectively, of the bridge plate, and

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the chain shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 1, I have shown a chain cylinder barrel 10 having sprockets one of which is indicated at 11. Bucket plates 12 are received by slots 13 in the sprockets and barrel and form six compartments, as shown, for the chain C. The latter is composed of bars 14 on which are strung chain rolls or balls 15. The bars are connected together in the usual manner by links 16, see Fig. 6, and the barrel and sprockets are turned by any desired mechanism which may act to give the chain a continuous feeding motion around the axis of the barrel. The balls preferably touch the barrel which is thereby required to share in the support of the load imposed by the lever 1'7 that controls a loom part through link 18.

Except for the form of the roll l5 the parts already described form no part of my present invention, and may be constructed and operated as shown in Patent No. 162,1116 to Knowles. 65

In the usual construction of chains for Knowles heads, as shown in the patent mentioned, there are gaps between adjacent bars into which the control levers can fall as the chain moves, My present invention aims to correct this defect by forming each roll 15 with a peripheral slot 20, Fig. 3, defining two spaced cylindrical lifting surfaces 21. The bottom of the slot is also cylindrical, forming a hub 22 against which rests a bridge 23. 5

There are as many of these bridges as the needs of the pattern require, and each bridge has a lifting, or holding surface 24 concentric about the axis of the barrel when assembled as in Fig. 1. A central radial slot 25 has outwardly flared sides which lie on opposite sides of the associated bucket blade. Each side of the bridge plate is concave as at 26 along a radius equal to or slightly greater than the radius of the chain roll hub 22. The distance between the surfaces 26 is such that when the bridge is located between two rolls on adjacent bars it will be held against substantial movement in the direction of travel of the chain.

rlhe inwardly extending horns 27 between the surfaces 26 and slot 25 extend far enough around the hubs 22 to prevent loss of the bridge when the latter is at the bottom of the chain, or when the chain is inverted. In other words, the distance between the outer corners 28 of the horns is greater than the distance between adjacent aligned hubs 22.

As shown in Fig. l, the holding surface 24 is part of a circular arc tangent to the rolls 15 so that no appreciable change in the position of the lever occurs when the chain slides under it.

In` assembling, the rolls are strung on the bars 14 in correct order, after which the bridges are placed where desired, and the connecting links 16 then applied to tie the bars together. The chain is flexible and the arcuate surfaces 26 slide along the hubs 22 to permit the chain to pass around the chain cylinder 10. The slots 25 are :dared to permit the chain to straighten out easily after passing over the cylinder, as indicated at S, Fig. 1.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a pattern chain having separate bridge elements which are held in place without sacrificing flexibility, and these bridges present surfaces which in effect are continuations of and tangent to the chain rolls. The bridges may be made of flat sheet metal, or can be cast and ground to size. The rolls, when not coacting with the bridges, can be used in the usual manner. The curved surfaces 26 and curved edges 29 of the slot 25 may both be concentric, if desired, and the surfaces 29 may be just within the lifting surfaces 21 of the roll, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. l, to prevent the chain from sticking to the bucket blades.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

l. In a pattern chain for lcoins, a pair of bars, a roll on each bar having a peripheral slot, and a bridge extending into the slots of the rolls and held by the rolls freni substantial movement tranversely of the axes of the bars.

2. In a pattern chain for looms, a pair of spaced aligned chain rolls, and a bridge between said rolls having parts thereof wrapped partly around and movable relatively to the rolls.

3. In a pattern chain for looms, a pair of spaced aligned chain rolls, and a bridge separate from and engaging both rolls and held by engagement with said rolls on both sides of a straight line joining the centers of said rolls.

4. In a pattern chain for looms, a pair of spaced aligned chain rolls, and a bridge having concave surfaces wrapped partly around each roll, the bridge movable relatively to each roll along the concave surfaces but heid by the wrapping engagement against motion transverse of a line joining the centers of the rolls.

5. In a pattern chain for looms, a pair of rolls spaced in the direction of travel of the chain, and a bridge extending across the space between the rolls, said bridge separate from both rolls and having holding engagement with each roll to restrain movement of the bridge transversely of a straight line joining the centers of the rolls.

6. In a pattern chain for looins, a pair of rolls spaced in the direction in which the chain travels, a bridge separate from and extending across the space between the rolls, and interengaging means on the rolls and bridge to nold the latter in place for all relative positions of the rolls and bridge.

7. A loern pattern chain forming element for coaction with a pair of chain rolls and a pattern lever, said element having a holding surface for the lever and having also surfaces to wrap partly around the rolls to be held in position by engagement with the rolls.

8. A loom pattern chain forming element for coaction with a pair of chain rolls and a pattern lever, said element having a pair of concave surfaces to slidably engage convex surfaces on the rolls, the concave surfaces extending on both sides of a straight line joining the centers of said concave surfaces.

9. A loom pattern chain bridge element having a convex working surface, and having two spaced concave arcuate surfaces extending on both sides of a straight line joining the centers of the concave surfaces.

10. A loorn pattern chain bridge element having a convex working surface, and having two spaced concave arcuate surfaces extending on both sides of a straight line joining the centers of the concave surfaces, said element having a slot between the concave surfaces substantially radial with respect to the center of the convex working surface.

l1. A loom pattern chain bridge element having a convex working surface, and having two spaced concave arcuate surfaces extending on both sides of a straight line joining the centers of the concave surfaces, said element having a slot between the concave surfaces substantially radial with respect to the center of the convex working surface, the inner edges of the slot being flared away from each other.

l2. In a loom pattern chain, a pair of spaced chain rolls movable along an arcuate path, a bridge element having a working surface concentric with the center of the arcuate path, and having also concave surfaces to coact with the rolls to hold said working surface tangent to the rolls.

13. In a pattern chain having two spaced chain rolls, a chain forming bridge element having a convex working surface, and two concave surfaces on the element to engage the rolls and keep the working surface tangent to the chain rolls.

ELBRIDGE R. HOLMES. 

